The Young Engineers in Colorado eBook

“Harry,” he directed, “you take
Black’s leveling notes and hold them while I
read my own notes. Stop me every time that you
note a difference between the two records.”

After that Harry steadily stopped his chum at every
reading. By the time that they had finished the
comparisons Hazelton’s face looked blank from
sheer astonishment.

“Why, every single one of Blacks foresights
and backsights is wrong!” gasped Harry.
“And yet Mr. Blaisdell reported that ’Gene
Black is such a fine engineer.”

Tom turned to make sure that Trotter was resting out
of hearing before he replied:

“Harry, Black isn’t such a fool as to
bring in an absolutely wrong record of sights, and
yet do it innocently. If he didn’t do it
unintentionally, then he must have tangled the record
purposely.”

“But why should he do it purposely?” Harry
insisted. “He would know that, sooner
or later, his blunders or lies would be discovered,
and that he would be discharged. Now, Black really
wants to hold his job with this outfit.”

“Does he?” asked Tom bluntly.

“Why, what do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” Reade confessed.
“I never heard of any such bungle as this before
by an engineer. Why, Harry, this hillside averages
an eight and a third grade, yet Black’s field
notes show it to be only a three per cent. grade.
Hang it, the fellow must have played the trick purposely!”

“Yet why?” pressed Hazelton.

“I’ll admit that I can’t understand. Unless, well---unless-----”

“Say it!”

“Unless Black joined this outfit with the express
purpose of queering all the work of the entire corps
as he could easily do. Harry, do you think that
Black could possibly be serving with this outfit as
the paid tool of the rival road, the W.C. & A.?
Can he be the enemy’s spy within our lines—–­sent
to prevent our finishing the road on time?”

CHAPTER X

THINGS BEGIN TO GO DOWN HILL

“I suppose I’m thick,” Harry murmured.
“How would Black, by turning in some wrong
backsights and foresights, expect to delay the building
of the road, even if he wanted to do it?”

“How?” repeated Tom Reade, showing an
amount of heat and excitement that he rarely displayed.
“Why, Harry, this same old Section Nineteen
is one of the hard spots on the road. A lot of
excavating has to be done before the tracks can be
laid here. It’s not a mere matter of scooping
up dirt and removing it, either. A large amount
of solid rock has to be blasted out here before the
roadbed can be laid.”

“I know it,” Harry nodded.

“Well, then, at the present moment our chief,
Mr. Thurston, is preparing the estimates for the work
that must be done. On his estimates will be
based the strength of the laboring gangs that must
come forward to do the work.”